Jersey Constable Simon Crowcroft has revealed the alarming news that the Parish of St Helier, which owns the United Kingdom based St Helier House Residential Home, is having to invest £30,000 after worryingly serious defects were found in their fire safety for the building.
However, as a by product of this and the cost of ‘additional works required to ensure compliance with modern safety regulations,’ Mr Crowcroft has declared that the ‘Parish had no choice other than to implement the planned closure of the home.’
On the 20th September, the 44 residents who currently live in the home on Westmount Road were told that Jersey Fire and Rescue Service had pointed out a whole host of issues, which include combustible cladding, with the site. Talks are currently being held with both residents and staff as to whether they still want to remain at the property.
According to Mr Crowcroft, the ‘combustible nature’ of the 23-year-old cladding on the building only came to fruition after a host of inspections were carried out in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire.
That deadly and tragic blaze tore through the North Kensington 24-storey tower block, killing an estimated 80 people in the process back in June, and the knock on effect of that prompted fire services up and down the United Kingdom to carry out repeated checks on high-rise buildings in their areas. While the cladding is different at St Helier House than Grenfell, it is still combustible.
